Remaining Stain
by Lingerer
Summary: He was like that stubborn stain - lingering in her mind.


**This is Lingerer with a new oneshot! **

**Now shoot me!**

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**Remaining Stain**

* * *

That stain would never disappear.

No matter what stain-removing technique she had used, that stain would always remain at the same location, with the same size, and the same hue of color.

Lyra sighed for the umpteenth time as she stuffed the pile of clothes into the washing machine. Someday, somehow, that boy would always manage to get at least a stain within a day. Even more, he would always find a new concoction to dirty his shirt. And what luck – this time he stained her too.

Who would have known that the grape juice would be the stain this time?

Wishing for the purple substance to disappear throughout the clothes, she added the detergent into the washing machine. As she pressed the certain numbers into the machine, her hazel eyes unwarily followed the clock. Another thought processed through her mind.

They were definitely going to be late at this pace.

"Ikari!" Lyra called, breaking off her thoughts. "Where are you?" No response. Once again, she sighed. Every day was just a typical hide-and-seek day for him. Fortunately for her, that boy was just too ignorant about the rules of the game.

"Ikari's not here, mommy!" She quietly chuckled at his voice, sounding from a closet not too far from her. She reminded herself to later teach him the correct rules of the game.

Anyway, it was time to get him out.

Tiptoeing, Lyra approached to the small closet, where she deduced the presence of her boy. "Okay, Ikari isn't here!" She loudly shouted into the air, just right outside the closet. Soon, she heard small giggles inside the closet.

Once her prediction has been confirmed, she then proceeded to do her usual thing to get her boy out. First, she cleared her throat, gathering the attention of the boy in the closet.

"Okay, then mommy is going without Ikari!"

Well, that –

The boy had burst out of the closet, his eyes already quivering to the brink of tears. "M-M-Mommy? A-A-Are you going to leave me behind?!" He wailed. "D-Don't leave me behind, Mommy!"

– did the trick.

Sighing at her son's immaturity, Lyra couldn't help but curve her mouth into a gentle smile. "Well then, let's get ready to go somewhere." At this, Ikari immediately stopped whimpering, and beamed brightly. His inheritance – hair of bright red – matched with her hazel eyes, bringing forth excitement within him.

"Okay!"

Considering the conversation of time, Lyra quickly chose her choice of clothes, and hastily passed her son's set of clothes. With both dressing up fully without a second to spare, they began to head for their destination.

Ikari didn't know where, of course.

**…**

"Mommy, these clothes are tight." Ikari whined, tugging at the neck of the shirt.

"It wasn't my fault all your other clothes were unusually _purple_." Lyra inwardly laughed as her son visibly flinched.

The rest of the trip went smoothly. Ikari, sensing the innocent guilt planted in his mind, just decided to stay quiet and view the scenery outside the car. Lyra too had her own thoughts to deal with.

She unwarily brushed her chocolate-brown hair, reminiscing the hurtful past once again.

The car suddenly stopped, breaking the thoughts accumulated in Lyra. "Yer' here." The driver announced, pointing out to the environment. Ikari glanced around the unfamiliar place, sensing unusual traits from it.

"Mommy, why are we surrounded by bunch of rocks?" Ikari innocently asked, without having a single clue of his current location. She sighed at her son's ignorance.

But then again, ignorance is bliss – for they had arrived at the cemetery.

**…**

"_Silvy! Where are you going?" Lyra sluggishly followed her spouse, having difficulty moving with her current state of pregnancy.__ "Are you going somewhere fun without me?"__ He turned back, his ginger hair shifting along with his movement. _

"_I'm just going to visit Gold." Silver assured Lyra, stepping closer to her. _

"_Can't I follow you?" She whined, childishly tugging on his arm. Silver gently plucked off her hand from his arm, and patted her in the head with his free hand. _

"_Just stay in the house for a while, and I'll come back with something." He promised, sealing it with a chaste kiss on her cheeks. Her cheeks were soon flaring up, leaving a nice shade of red. _

_Lyra opened her mouth in shock, however barely making an audible squeak. "S-S-Silver!" _

_Silver smirked upon her reaction. "Well then, I'm going." _

**…**

A gentle breeze wafted around the area, brushing off the mother and the child. Lyra woke up from her trancelike state, her eyes already locating some familiar landmarks. Looking down, she sorrowfully sighed as her legs remotely walked towards the place.

Lyra knew this place like as if it was her house.

After all, she visited this place even before Ikari was born. Seeing that Ikari was turning seven around this year, she had visited this place quite a lot.

However for Ikari, this place was like one of his childhood mysteries.

"Mommy, where are we going?" Behind her, Ikari lightly tugged at her sleeves. Lyra turned back, and gently smiled at her boy. After all, the boy didn't know anything about this – he was completely innocent. She finally spoke, her sentence ending in a slight wavering tone.

"We're going to daddy's home."

**…**

_"Why did I even bother?" Silver muttered, annoyingly brushing his red locks with his hands. He began to hasten his steps, so that he may escape his presence once more. Sometimes, he wondered why he was even friends with him. _

_ Gold had asked for money – again. _

_ Wasn't his name enough for him? _

_ His train of thoughts broke by the loud ringtone sounding in his pockets. Seeing that the streets were bustling with people, he quickly sidestepped inside a small business center, where he would be able to calmly answer the phone. _

_ "Silvy!" Lyra's loud voice rang out of the machine, slightly deafening his poor ears. After a long, exhausting day, this was not what he wanted. Just as he was about to swear up a storm, her voice continued on. "Are you coming back home now?" Her yearning, yet cute voice delayed him from his fit, and soon brought a relieving sigh. _

_ "Yeah, I'm coming home soon." He replied. _

_ "Don't forget to get me something!" Lyra excitedly chirped. He let out a dry chuckle. Upon that, his eyes began to unwarily travel to the street across. Soon, his eyes changed into something of excitement. _

_ "Okay." He quickly shut off his phone, and began to walk hastily towards the jewelry store across the street. _

_ Unknowingly, his demise had started._

**…**

Oh, why had she done that?

Lyra stood before a lone tombstone; ragged and crust with age. The words encrypted on the tombstone began to wear out already, some of the words barely understandable. However, only one word was clear – still clear to Lyra – as it held unto the rock.

_Silver_.

"Mommy, where is daddy?" Ikari asked once more, no clue whatsoever.

"Well, Ikari-" She heard her voice beginning to quiver now. "-daddy lives here."

A lone tear escaped from her eye, as it gently landed to the soft patch of grass.

**…**

_"How much is the ring?" Silver asked, while placing his finger right above the ring Lyra will surely love. Adored by brilliantly sparkling diamonds, the gold ring shone like a rose among a patch of grass. Upon her fingers, it would be a majestic art. _

_ But alas, one thing stopped him from buying the accessory immediately – the price. _

_Though not on purpose, he gave off his usual, piercing look to the cashier._

_ "O-O-Only $100 dollar, sir!" The poor cashier stammered in fear, violently shaking as he pulled out the ring from the display. Silver oddly looked at him, which only increased the cashier's fear. _

_How that worked is not of concern, though._

_ "Well, it is cheaper than I thought…" Silver muttered, while pulling out his wallet to check his remaining cash. Seeing that Gold had taken majority of his money, he decided to ask for a lower price. "…but is it possible if I were to ask for a lower price-"_

_ "TAKE IT, JUST TAKE IT." The cashier wailed, further plunging himself into fear. "IT'S ON THE HOUSE."_

_ Silver suspiciously eyed the man, which only increased his fears. "Okay…"_

_ With that, the cashier immediately handed Silver the ring, beautifully packaged in a red velvet box. Filled with joy, Silver burst out of the store. Oh, he could just scream like that feisty girl to prove his happiness. _

_ Of course, he wouldn't._

_ Now with a smile etched unto his face, Silver began to hastily walk towards his house, where his wife would wait eagerly for him. _

**…**

"Well, Silvy." Lyra began. "It's that time of the year again." She had sat down before the tombstone, as if she was talking to the inanimate object. Ikari curiously eyed his mother, who only continued to talk to the rock.

"Mommy, who are you talking to?" Ikari asked, soon plopping down right next to her.

Lyra stopped midsentence, and fondly looked at her son. "I'm currently talking to daddy, sweetheart." She then longingly gazed at the small tomb, where her husband was laid.

Once again, Ikari didn't understand this.

"You'll soon understand…" Lyra affectionately cooed, ruffling her son's ginger hair. This brought gentle giggles from her son, which some of them still actually resembling his father's laugh. Then she faced the tomb once more and continued.

"So, Silver. This is your son. Isn't he cute?" Lyra made an excitable squeak. However, that excitement was soon covered by the heavy melancholy. "A lot of things happened while you were gone… Ikari was born, Gold and Crystal _finally_ got married, and Red and Yellow _finally _got up." She chuckled at the remembrance of certain memories.

A soft, gentle breeze blew over the tomb, as of reply.

"And your sister is doing fine. When you were gone-" Lyra paused, not before swallowing the lump in her throat. "-she was depressed for a long time. But Green got it up for her, and now she's got her first child, Violet." She said, reminiscing the past.

"Even more, now everyone is just getting up left and right. I mean, I can't spend a month without going to someone's wedding." She giggled, as if the conversation was continuing on. "They should seriously make up a date where everyone can marry all at the same time, and-" She stopped short, seeing that she was rambling on.

So instead, she decided to tell Silver something about their son.

"Silver, do you know the meaning of Ikari's name?" Lyra suddenly questioned, hugging her son closer. He too, looked up, and curiously gazed at her for the meaning of his name. "This time, I actually made the name-" She choked on her words, and it soon disappeared as it came. "-and I think you might like it."

"Ikari means rage. You know; the thing you always liked to do." She closed her eyes, and smiled as if she heard his retort. Oh, how she longed for his voice to be heard once more. "But do you know the other meaning of the name?"

She took a big gulp of air, and continued on.

"Ikari also means anchor." A piece of the past flashed by, soon bringing her sorrow. A single strand of tear slowly dropped from the corner of her eye, falling directly to Ikari sitting on her lap.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" He yawned, already sleepy during the trip. His words brought her to realization, as she began to wipe her eyes with the corner of her sleeves. But as soon as she did, more began to replace the empty place.

"Anchor, as in the thing on the boat, ship, or floating thing on sea." She continued on, occasionally biting her inner cheeks to stop herself from crying. "You know; the important thing that holds weak vessels in place."

She paused, and took a deep breath.

"Ikari is an anchor to me."

**…**

_Silver never liked waiting. _

_ That being said, he was also distracted by the gift ready for his wife. _

_ Without a thought, he began to cross the busy road…_

**…**

"You know, when I heard the news, I was devastated." Lyra stated, her voice already quivering to the brink of tears once more. "I-I-I was even thinking of suicide, because this place, this world, isn't just same without you."

She heavily gulped and continued on, slightly trembling as she did.

"But did you know? I just couldn't – I just couldn't let a part of you die once more."

Tears began to openly leak out from her eyes, as it pitter-pattered on the rocky foundation. But she didn't care – she missed him too dearly.

She missed his smell; fresh grassy smell always lingered around him after his training.

She missed his touch; how gentle was he towards her.

She missed his voice; despite the usual irritation contained in it.

She missed him; Silver Anima Devante.

"H-H-He was the one that gripped me in place. I know you wouldn't want me to follow you, so y-y-you better thank him." She slightly chuckled, despite the shaking in her voice. On her lap, Ikari peacefully slept, having no clue of the inner conflict within his very mother.

**…**

_"Silver!" Lyra desperately cried out loud, her body flailing towards in his direction. Several policemen gently stopped her, as she carried a child. _

_ Silver's child. _

_ "Silver!" She cried out once more, her vocal chords on the verge of damnation. As the paramedics carried off some of the injured people, Lyra saw as her lover was carried off somewhere – body hanged in a lifeless form. _

_ Her heart shattered as she witnessed his demise. His dark jacket – now in bright crimson – covered his mangled body, as he was crushed by an oncoming truck. His bloodied hands dangled without strength, and his leg was bent in the wrong direction. _

_ Finally, his lifeless body was pushed inside the ambulance, which soon left as it came. _

_ "Silver!" _

**…**

Lyra observed the very ring that weighed his life.

"If only I hadn't asked for this…" She lamented, sorrowfully eyeing the jewelry. "If only I wasn't so selfish…" Once again, new tears slowly went down the former trails, softly landing at the rocky surface.

"Y-Y-You know, Silver? I-I-I really miss you." Her voice began to crack, her words began to stumble, but no care was given. Tears newly shed began to now flow down in a stream. "I-I-I don't think I-I can live a normal life; m-m-my sin is too great to be forgotten. B-But you wouldn't like the current me, so I will change."

"From today – forever – I'll leave you alone now. You won't be tormented from my usual irritation." Lyra flashed a gentle, yet melancholic smile. She closed her eyes and uttered. "And don't worry. I'll tell Ikari what wonderful husband you were; despite the short times we were granted."

_"Thank you." _

There was a sudden silence.

_"And don't forget this; always leave this at your heart. I love you." _

"Silver?" She opened her eyes, hoping for some miracle. However, it was utterly broken by the empty, abyssal silence that followed after the ghostly sentence. Instead of her lover, a breeze of wind gusted over the grassy patch of grave. Instead of Silver, a ghostly sense wafted over the grave, disappearing as soon as it came.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Lyra finally broke down into a sorrowful cry to the skies, screaming the name of her friend, lover, and husband repeatedly. This action woke up Ikari, drowsy and confused.

"Mommy, why are you crying? Is there something wrong?" Ikari worriedly asked.

Lyra continued sobbing, muttering his name continuously. "Silver…Silver…Silver…" Tears streaming down, her hazel pupils becoming dull, she sobbed in sorrow and hopelessness. Seeing his mother's distress, Ikari decided to do something for her. After all, his mother was pretty when she was smiling, not when she was crying.

Without himself realizing, he had done what his father used to do to comfort her.

Ikari tightly hugged her, instantly stopping her from sobbing. "Mommy, don't cry…" He muttered, tightening his hug towards her. "I'm your anchor, right? Then I'm going to hold you in place, so mommy – don't cry."

Lyra stopped short. Her son was already maturing before her, and he was doing his best to comfort her. Here she was, still weeping about the past which will never change. Swallowing the sorrow, she finally let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, Ikari is my anchor." She said aloud. "So he will hold me in place, so that I may drift forward someday."

At this, Ikari burst into a big smile. "Yayy!" He chirped, regaining his hug on her. "Mommy is happy again!" He returned to his former self – the childish self. The sudden change of persona was quite unusual, as such drastic changes don't happen in a second.

It was as if Silver had quickly replaced Ikari.

Nonetheless, he was still her child, her little anchor. Now with comfort coming back, Lyra tightly hugged him back, smothering herself in his fluffy, ginger hair. The two continued hugging each other, not caring about the flow of time.

Yes, Silver was her remaining stain in her memories – lingering despite the attempts.

Finally, the stain had been removed, making the cloth come clean once more. But despite the cloth had been cleaned, the stain remains, faintly as it does.

But no matter; the cloth is 'clean.'

_I love you, always and forever, my dear Silver._

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**AND I STILL SUCK AT TRAGEDY**

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH**

**Whatevs **

**BYE**


End file.
